{"id":107090,"date":"2020-11-07T09:40:56","date_gmt":"2020-11-07T06:40:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/what-was-nextstep-and-why-did-people-love-it\/"},"modified":"2020-11-07T09:40:56","modified_gmt":"2020-11-07T06:40:56","slug":"what-was-nextstep-and-why-did-people-love-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-was-nextstep-and-why-did-people-love-it\/","title":{"rendered":"#What Was NeXTSTEP, and Why Did People Love It?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3256730489c\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3256730489c\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-was-nextstep-and-why-did-people-love-it\/#NeXTSTEP_Flexible_and_Elegant_with_a_Solid_Foundation\" >NeXTSTEP: Flexible and Elegant, with a Solid Foundation<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-was-nextstep-and-why-did-people-love-it\/#The_Origins_of_NeXTSTEP\" >The Origins of NeXTSTEP<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-was-nextstep-and-why-did-people-love-it\/#A_Bumpy_Business_Road\" >A Bumpy Business Road<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-was-nextstep-and-why-did-people-love-it\/#Notable_NeXTSTEP_Releases\" >Notable NeXTSTEP Releases<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-was-nextstep-and-why-did-people-love-it\/#The_Legacy_of_NeXTSTEP\" >The Legacy of NeXTSTEP<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-was-nextstep-and-why-did-people-love-it\/#NeXTSTEP_Trivia\" >NeXTSTEP Trivia<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><strong>&#8220;#What Was NeXTSTEP, and Why Did People Love It?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-698613 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/next_logo_hero.jpg\" alt=\"The NeXT logo.\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Launching with Steve Jobs\u2019 NeXT Computer in 1988, NeXTSTEP advanced desktop operating systems. It became the technological bedrock for <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">App<\/a>le\u2019s macOS, iOS, and others. Let\u2019s look at what was so special about NeXTSTEP.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"NeXTSTEP_Flexible_and_Elegant_with_a_Solid_Foundation\"><\/span>NeXTSTEP: Flexible and Elegant, with a Solid Foundation<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Amid heavyweight competition from Windows, Mac OS, OS\/2, and BeOS in the 1990s, the NeXTSTEP operating system stood out. This was due to its elegant use of detailed icons and typography, its built-in networking support, the easy-to-program object-oriented windowing system, and its solid UNIX roots.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_698711\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-698711 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/nextstep_33_mail.jpg\" alt=\"Three windows open on a NeXTSTEP 3.3 desktop.\" width=\"650\" height=\"483\" data-crediturl=\"http:\/\/toastytech.com\/guis\/ns33.html\" data-credittext=\"ToastyTech GUI Gallery\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The NeXTSTEP 3.3 Desktop. <span class=\"imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/toastytech.com\/guis\/ns33.html\">ToastyTech GUI Gallery<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>All of these features (and more) earned NeXTSTEP a core group of die-hard fans. It also won fans at Apple, who guided NeXTSTEP into the future of the company. Today, hundreds of millions of people use descendants of the NeXT software on Macs, iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches. But how did that happen?<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>What Was BeOS, and Why Did People Love It?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Origins_of_NeXTSTEP\"><\/span>The Origins of NeXTSTEP<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The mid-1980s were tough for Steve Jobs. After a power struggle at Apple, he left the firm he cofounded in 1985. That same year, he founded NeXT, Inc., along with several other Apple veterans.<\/p>\n<p>The crew quickly got to work creating a completely new computer platform, with <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Avie_Tevanian\">Avie Tevanian<\/a> in charge of software and Apple veteran, Rich Page, handling hardware. To avoid noncompete issues with Apple, NeXT decided to target the high-end educational workstation market.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_698722\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-698722 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/xnextcube_monitor.jpg.pagespeed.gp+jp+jw+pj+ws+js+rj+rp+rw+ri+cp+md.ic.9uYv0U2HW2.jpg\" alt=\"A NeXT Computer with a megapixel display.\" width=\"650\" height=\"426\" data-credittext=\"NeXT, Inc.\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The NeXT Computer with a megapixel display. <span class=\"imagecredit\">NeXT, Inc.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>After several years in development, the company released the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/NeXT_Computer\">NeXT Computer<\/a> in October 1988. It stunned the press by leapfrogging the desktop computers of the time in capability.<\/p>\n<p>Its features included:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A 25 MHz Motorola 68030 CPU<\/li>\n<li>8 MB of RAM<\/li>\n<li>A dedicated <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Motorola_56000\">Motorola DSP chip<\/a> for digital audio<\/li>\n<li>Built-in Ethernet<\/li>\n<li>A\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Magneto-optical_drive\">magneto-optical drive<\/a> that could read and write 250 MB discs<\/li>\n<li>Support for a high-resolution, 1120-by-832 display with 2-bit color depth (4 shades of gray)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>All of this was packed into a 12-inch magnesium cube. Of course, this kind of <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> didn\u2019t come cheap: a base model retailed for $6,500 (about $14,000 today), dramatically overshooting Jobs\u2019 initial $3,000 target.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Steve Jobs Unveils the NeXT Computer - October 12, 1988\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/92NNyd3m79I?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>But hardware is only half of the story. NeXT breathed life into its new machine with a cutting-edge operating system called NeXTSTEP. It paired a UNIX\/BSD-based kernel (Tevanian\u2019s Mach) with a sophisticated, object-oriented desktop environment. It used Adobe\u2019s <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Display_PostScript\">Display PostScript<\/a> technology to fluidly render graphics and fonts at high resolutions.<\/p>\n<p>NeXTSTEP worked beautifully as a graphical mouse-based operating system with a 3D-style interface and large, detailed icons. Yet, beneath its fancy exterior lay the beating heart of a fully functional UNIX system. A hacker-friendly UNIX command prompt was also only a click away at any time, thanks to a built-in Terminal application.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_698721\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-698721 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/NeXT_application_icons.png\" alt=\"Five application icons in the Dock of OPENSTEP 4.2.\" width=\"650\" height=\"130\" data-credittext=\"NeXT, Inc.\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Several OPENSTEP 4.2 application icons in the Dock. <span class=\"imagecredit\">NeXT, Inc.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Jobs\u2019 team also conceived NeXTSTEP as a networking OS from the ground up. The v0.8 launch edition included TCP\/IP networking and an advanced Mail client that could send emails with audio and digital image attachments. These network-friendly underpinnings, paired with the built-in Ethernet port, facilitated Tim Berners-Lee\u2019s development of the first <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/World_Wide_Web\">World Wide Web<\/a> browser on the NeXT Platform in 1990.<\/p>\n<p>However, some might say the real star of the NeXTSTEP show was its <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Object-oriented_programming\">object-oriented<\/a> development environment. It allowed developers to rapidly create sophisticated graphical applications in <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Objective-C\">Objective-C<\/a> based on modular code. This ease of development attracted many customers to NeXTSTEP in the early-to-mid \u201990s.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, some developers used NeXTSTEP as an advanced platform to develop programs for other computers. One high profile example is <em>Doom<\/em>, the blockbuster first-person shooter that first launched on MS-DOS PCs.<\/p>\n<p>During development, id Software\u2019s John Carmack and John Romero found that the NeXT environment gave them a huge development edge. This was especially true for the\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doomwiki.org\/wiki\/DoomEd\">DoomEd level editor<\/a> they created for building the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a>\u2019s maps.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_699044\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-699044 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/doomed_on_nextstep.jpg\" alt=\"The DoomEd level editor for Doom running on NeXTSTEP.\" width=\"650\" height=\"488\" data-crediturl=\"https:\/\/doomwiki.org\/wiki\/File:DoomEd.png\" data-credittext=\"Quasar\/DoomWiki\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">id Software\u2019s DoomEd level editor for <em>Doom<\/em> running on NeXTSTEP. <span class=\"imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doomwiki.org\/wiki\/File:DoomEd.png\">Quasar\/DoomWiki<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThe user interface and the ease of developing GUI applications were unique to NeXT at the time,\u201d said Carmack. \u201cWe had developed our own editors on DOS for previous games, but DoomEd was a lot more complicated, and had to flexibly evolve during the development process. NeXT was perfect for that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Romero added that the NeXT environment was 15 years ahead of anything else at the time. He relished the system\u2019s high resolution, which allowed them to debug the game while simultaneously running it in a window\u2014something that was impossible on DOS.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe would have made <em>Doom\u00a0<\/em>without NeXTSTEP,\u201d said Romero. \u201cBut I don\u2019t know what it would have looked like or how long it would have taken.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Compared to the single-user Mac and DOS machines that were plagued with instability, and the powerful, but cumbersome and unfriendly UNIX workstations, NeXTSTEP was a taste of the future.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>How to Play Classic &#8220;Doom&#8221; in Widescreen on Your PC or Mac<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_Bumpy_Business_Road\"><\/span>A Bumpy Business Road<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Despite shipping cutting-edge hard- and software, NeXT struggled to gain a reliable revenue stream throughout its existence. The academic workstation market NeXT had initially targeted proved to be too small and underfunded to support the kind of margins necessary to sell such advanced hardware.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, NeXT attempted to pivot its business plan several times.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_698723\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-698723 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/xns20mail_resized.jpg.pagespeed.gp+jp+jw+pj+ws+js+rj+rp+rw+ri+cp+md.ic.Xb8Qx210TB.jpg\" alt=\"An email from Steve Jobs on a NeXTSTEP 2.0 computer.\" width=\"650\" height=\"483\" data-crediturl=\"http:\/\/toastytech.com\/guis\/ns20.html\" data-credittext=\"ToastyTech GUI Gallery\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The email from Steve Jobs that shipped with the NeXTSTEP 2.0. <span class=\"imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/toastytech.com\/guis\/ns20.html\">ToastyTech GUI Gallery<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A lower-priced machine, the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/NeXTstation\">NeXTstation<\/a>, was released in 1990 and followed by several faster workstations with advanced color capabilities. Firm sales numbers are hard to find, but NeXT reportedly <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/2005\/12\/next-fans-give-up-the-ghost\/\">only sold about 50,000 computers<\/a>\u00a0before pulling the plug on hardware sales in 1993.<\/p>\n<p>After that, NeXT decided to focus on software, porting NeXTSTEP to architectures, including Intel\u2019s x86 CPUs, PA-RISC, and Sun\u2019s SPARC machines. For a time, you could buy a boxed copy of NeXT and run it on your home 486 PC (as long as it <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.kevra.org\/TheBestOfNext\/ThirdPartyProducts\/ThirdPartyHardware\/NeXTSTEPonNonNeXTComputers\/IntelHardwareForNeXTStep\/IntelHardwareForNeXTStep.html\">met the system requirements<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>In its final major pivot as an independent company, NeXT decided to focus primarily on its secret sauce: a world-class, object-oriented development API codeveloped with Sun called <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/OpenStep\">OpenStep<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In 1996, NeXTSTEP became OPENSTEP for Mach (confusingly, the all caps branding was an attempt to differentiate the OPENSTEP OS product from the OpenStep API product). NeXT also released the OpenStep API for other platforms, like Windows.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Notable_NeXTSTEP_Releases\"><\/span>Notable NeXTSTEP Releases<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-698732\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/xnextstep_art_3.1_2.jpg.pagespeed.gp+jp+jw+pj+ws+js+rj+rp+rw+ri+cp+md.ic.v7eJCFSkom.jpg\" alt=\"NeXTSTEP Artwork from its version 3.1 release.\" width=\"650\" height=\"257\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>NeXT shipped at least a dozen major versions of NeXTSTEP and OPENSTEP for various platforms between 1988-97; below are a few of the most notable:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>NeXTSTEP 0.8 (1988):<\/strong>\u00a0The first version to ship with NeXT hardware. It was included with the NeXT Computer.<\/li>\n<li><strong>NeXTSTEP 2.0 (1990):<\/strong>\u00a0This release introduced support for color graphics, floppy disks, CD-ROM, the first appearance of Terminal.app, and more.<\/li>\n<li><strong>NeXTSTEP 3.1 (1993):<\/strong>\u00a0The first release to support x86 processors, allowing NeXTSTEP to be installed on generic IBM, PC-compatible hardware.<\/li>\n<li><strong>NeXTSTEP 3.3 (1995):<\/strong>\u00a0The last version before the OPENSTEP rename. It supported the Motorola 68K, Intel i386, PA-RISC, and SPARC\u00a0platforms.<\/li>\n<li><strong>OPENSTEP 4.2 (1996):<\/strong>\u00a0The final version in development before Apple bought NeXT.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Legacy_of_NeXTSTEP\"><\/span>The Legacy of NeXTSTEP<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In 1995, Apple started ramping up its efforts to acquire technology from an outside firm to use as the basis for a next-generation Macintosh operating system. The company\u2019s executives attempted to acquire the developer of BeOS, but Steve Jobs got wind of the plan and maneuvered NeXT into consideration.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20020208190346\/http:\/\/product.info.apple.com\/pr\/press.releases\/1997\/q1\/961220.pr.rel.next.html\">Apple acquired NeXT<\/a> (including NeXTSTEP, OpenStep, and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/WebObjects\">WebObjects<\/a>) for $400 million in 1996. With it, a new chapter of Apple history began to unfold.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_698729\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-698729 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/apple_rhapsody_Desktop.png\" alt=\"Three windows open on Apple Rhapsody.\" width=\"650\" height=\"482\" data-crediturl=\"http:\/\/toastytech.com\/guis\/rhap.html\" data-credittext=\"ToastyTech GUI Gallery\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Apple\u2019s 1997 Rhapsody prototype shows the transition between OPENSTEP and Mac OS. <span class=\"imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/toastytech.com\/guis\/rhap.html\">ToastyTech GUI Gallery<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>After the acquisition, Apple got a brain transplant. Jobs and several NeXT veterans, including Tevanian and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jon_Rubinstein\">John Rubinstein<\/a>, were installed as Apple executives. Some even joke that NeXT acquired Apple, rather than the other way around.<\/p>\n<p>Work quickly began to\u00a0turn NeXTSTEP into the next major version of Mac OS. After some prototypes called Rhapsody, Apple landed on Mac OS X in 2000. It became the core direction of the company\u2019s future software products\u2014today, Mac OS X is known as macOS.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>20 Years Later: How the Mac OS X Public Beta Saved the Mac<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_698736\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-698736 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/xmacos_catalina_on_macbook_pro.jpg.pagespeed.gp+jp+jw+pj+ws+js+rj+rp+rw+ri+cp+md.ic.hfs96IQP0c.jpg\" alt=\"A photo gallery open in the Photos app on a MacBook Pro.\" width=\"650\" height=\"395\" data-credittext=\"Apple\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Today\u2019s macOS is a direct descendant of NeXTSTEP. <span class=\"imagecredit\">Apple<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Since then, descendants of the core technologies developed for NeXTSTEP in the \u201980s persist in macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and tvOS. Over time, OpenStep became the Cocoa API at the heart of Mac OS X applications.<\/p>\n<p>Several apps that are still included with macOS (including Dictionary, Chess, TextEdit, and Mail.app) all descend directly from earlier versions on NeXTSTEP. The macOS\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Spinning_pinwheel#From_NeXTStep_to_Mac_OS_X\">spinning pinwheel of death<\/a>\u00a0also started on NeXTSTEP, and NeXTSTEP\u2019s Dock was the forefather of macOS\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>Basically, macOS is still NeXTSTEP at its core, albeit, with many major changes.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"NeXTSTEP_Trivia\"><\/span>NeXTSTEP Trivia<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If you\u2019ve enjoyed this <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">trip<\/a> down memory lane, we\u2019ll leave you with the following bits of interesting NeXTSTEP tidbits:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Until NeXTSTEP 2.0 in 1990, a \u201cblack hole\u201d was the equivalent of the Trash on Mac or the Recycle Bin on Windows:<\/strong> In 2.0, it was changed to the \u201cRecycler.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><strong>NeXTSTEP 2.0 included a preinstalled <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/toastytech.com\/guis\/ns20mail.png\">email from Steve Jobs<\/a><\/strong>: It was the first message to appear in the NeXT Mail email software.<\/li>\n<li><strong>NeXTSTEP shipped with monochrome icons and applications:<\/strong>\u00a0The OS didn\u2019t appear in color until 1992 and NeXTSTEP 3.0.<\/li>\n<li><strong>One of the first attempts at a digital \u201cApp Store\u201d for computer applications debuted on NeXTSTEP in 1991:<\/strong>\u00a0The\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Electronic_AppWrapper\">Electronic AppWrapper<\/a>\u00a0sold commercial packages as digital network downloads managed by encryption and digital rights management.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/698532\/before-mac-os-x-what-was-nextstep-and-why-did-people-love-it\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#What Was NeXTSTEP, and Why Did People Love It?&#8221; Launching with Steve Jobs\u2019 NeXT Computer in 1988, NeXTSTEP advanced desktop operating systems. It became the technological bedrock for Apple\u2019s macOS, iOS, and others. Let\u2019s look at what was so special about NeXTSTEP. NeXTSTEP: Flexible and Elegant, with a Solid Foundation Amid heavyweight competition from Windows,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":107091,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/thumbcache\/2\/200\/5d37ea78a56fada7af43dfe720453486\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/next_logo_hero.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107090"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107090\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}